My Awesome Disaster

Christmas season just keeps starting earlier and earlier…and we can’t totally blame the retail stores

Growing up in the past, the Christmas season (aka, The Holidays) started the day after Thanksgiving. At that given time, it was safe to put your Christmas tree up without people judging you. It was time to start the annual shopping sprees. You could turn on the radio and hear Christmas carols and holiday songs. The world turned red and green with a little bit of snow white. AND….that’s when Santa Claus arrived with great grandeur at the local mall.

Things have changed. A lot! Today is only November 15th, and its a whole 7 days prior to Thanksgiving. Guess where we will be tonight? At my youngest daughter’s choir performance. Call it what you want, but it is a Christmas show. The kids are wearing red or white t-shirts with traditional red and white Santa hats. They are singing traditional Christmas carols along with a few twists. There will be costume characters like Frosty the Snowman and good ole Saint Nick himself. Elsa and Anna will make an appearance because nothing says Christmas like characters from Frozen. Or maybe I should say nothing says winter like characters from a movie that sings about snow, cold, true love, and building a snowman. “Do you want to build a snowman?”

My youngest daughter’s Pre-K and 4th Grade Christmas Concerts. She’s in 5th Grade this year. This will be our family’s LAST elementary school Christmas choir show. The end of an era!

Maybe I haven’t mentioned it before, but we live in the heart of the South. The deep, deep South. I mean, we are so far south into Georgia that you can almost see the Florida border from the tallest building in town. Maybe not. Our tallest building only has two floors. My point is that we don’t experience winter like the rest of the country. We get rain and some cold temps. Once a generation we may get a little snow. The signal for winter or Christmas usually has nothing to do with building a snowman. The signal is all about Christmas shows, Black Friday shopping, and all the decorations going up in the big box stores. And those decorations were coming out way before the kids even went trick or treating the end of October. So we shouldn’t be surprised that choir rehearsal back in October was full of songs like “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells” and “Let it Snow.” Snow…a type of precipitation most of these local kids never experienced until we got the rare snowfall this past January. (Global warming?)

Rare snow in South Georgia, January 2018. Neighborhood kids made due with socks for gloves, warm pajamas, and the Christmas hats that hadn’t been put away yet from the previous holiday season!

It is November 15th, and I am really contemplating pulling out the Christmas tree this weekend. In my defense, we will be out of town all of Thanksgiving. If we don’t put it up now, it will be….well, it will still be November because Thanksgiving is so early this year. My next oldest daughter has her Christmas choir performance on November 29th. Yes, it is after Thanksgiving, but it feels weird saying Christmas and November in the same sentence. The Advent Calendar doesn’t even start until December 1st. If I pull the tree out now, we will have over 30 days of enjoying the Christmas lights and pretty ornaments. Just kidding….we are that family that keeps the tree up almost until Valentines Day. Putting the tree up early should be no big deal.

However, I read in an article this week that playing Christmas music too early in the year causes increased levels of stress. I don’t agree. Christmas music is fun and happy. Except for that “Grandma got ran over by a reindeer” song. That’s a bit dark of a thought during the holiday season. They even made a children’s movie based on that song about drunk Grandma and reckless driving Santa. Now that could be raising some anxiety for those partaking in eggnog and other holiday traditions. I hope the article is wrong because in order for my girls to practice for their choir shows we’ve had to listen to Christmas carols for several weeks now—both with and without music accompaniment.

We can blame the big box stores all we want. I didn’t list any by name because 99% of them are guilty of early Christmas supplies and decorations filling their aisles and end-caps. However, we are pushing the season further and further out ourselves with early Christmas pageants and other preparations. Don’t even get me started on Black Friday shopping on Thanksgiving Day. I worked in the retail business a few years, and I’ll just say our family had to celebrate Turkey Day on a Monday or Tuesday during that period of our lives. I’m not going to point fingers or judge though. Christmas is my favorite time of year. So let it grow! Let the music play. Turn everything red and green and sprinkle in some white. You have to admit the stores are so much more appealing with happy elves and adorable forest creatures adorning all the signs and decorations. And I am quite sure that baby Jesus doesn’t mind us extending his “birthday month” out to be more like his “birthday quarter of the year!” (Don’t get any ideas, Mary!)

Happy early Thanksgiving! And an early Merry Christmas for good measure!

Christmas pajamas are a Christmas Eve tradition in our family. And my three youngest girls still appease me by letting me dress them alike!

When they cancel soccer and you are already enroute to Atlanta…you climb Stone Mountain instead

Weather this year has been Crazy (with a capital “C”) and we’ve had to re-schedule 3 soccer games this season! When you have away games that are at least a 3 hour drive away, you pause and rejoice a moment when they are canceled…only to remember they will be re-scheduled later and not always as convenient. But we’ve been making the most of it and using these weekend getaways as mini-vacations. So, this weekend we turned our canceled Atlanta game into a trip to Stone Mountain and the Halloween festival.

Wearing their Converse and sassy boots my two youngest daughters and their friend made the 1.1 mile hike up, begged to ride the sky ride down, but made the 1.1 mile hike down as well. It was almost “free” since you had to pay $20 just to enter the park. Beautiful views of Atlanta along the way with some pretty cute girls as my hiking partners.

Three cute hikers near the top of Stone Mountain

Atlanta and Buckhead skyline from Stone Mountain

Climbing Stone Mountain has been a family tradition since I was a kid. We always stopped by when driving through Atlanta. My dad liked the all you can eat buffet at the Stone Mountain Inn. Climbing the mountain was just part of the deal. We like Stone Mountain so much that we celebrated my youngest daughter’s first birthday at the rock. Whether it was camping or a hotel stay, it was always a fun visit.

But we can’t talk about Stone Mountain without mentioning the engraving. Some people find it offensive to have military leaders that fought on the side of the Confederacy represented in the state park. My first sarcastic thought is “the laser light show would not be nearly as cool if the three horsemen didn’t ride away in the laser lights amongst the fireworks!” You have to experience the Stone Mountain laser light show at least once in your life! If you haven’t seen it, add it to your bucket list!

The engraving is part of Stone Mountain. And it’s part of our history. Yes, it was a difficult time in our country. Many men died on both sides. Sherman burnt down Atlanta for goodness sake! However… the war ended. We reconciled as a country and memorials were placed all over to remind us of the Americans that sacrificed so much. If you dig deep, you will see that Congress passed a law that all Soldiers, no matter what side they fought on, are to be honored as U.S. Veterans. Those are Americans riding horses on the side of Stone Mountain. And it’s an amazing sight to see!

Yes, we climbed Stone Mountain! Rode the train in the dark. The kids played on the attractions. We ate sweet potato fries and cheese-bacon French fries. Got our military discount for the attractions tickets! There went our nearly free experience. Saw pretty lights and pumpkins. Watched them make snow as they prepare the Snow Mountain on Memorial Lawn. Lots of people had a good time that day!

If you are ever in Atlanta, be sure to add Stone Mountain to your “to do list.” Lots of stuff to do and see, it’s beautiful year round, and you might just learn a little bit about U.S. history. Shhhh! Don’t tell the kids the trip was educational!

Riding the train around Stone Mountain in the dark

Life gets in the way…but here’s more Hawaii pics

I know back in August I said I would post more Hawaii photos. Then there was a short trip here and a short trip there. Soccer away games that included an overnight stay. Homework, practice, and wait for it…work. All these distractions!

So without any more delay, here are some beautiful photos from Waikiki and Pearl Harbor!

View from the elevator lobby on the 14th floor

Food trucks area! Delicious food! BYOB….convenience store next to it was making bank on beer.

The little fountains along the beach walk were really pretty. Even with homeless people bathing in them occasionally.

Catching all the Pearl Harbor highlights in one photo from the bridge

Oh there’s Diamond Head! View from the water.

I loved how the sea wall made the beach swimming areas calm and relaxing.

Another view of Pearl Harbor going over the bridge to Ford Island

Tropical Storm conditions didn’t stop them from taking wedding photos!

View from the plane as we narrowly escaped Hurricane Lane!

And now some images of my food:

Fish….and I can’t remember what kind other than delicious!

Pancakes with bananas and chocolate….and oh, look…bacon!

Pancakes with brûlée banana! OMG! And macadamia nut! I could t eat it all, but I ate all the toppings!

This Mai Tai sure looks different than the watered down airplane version.

More fish! With butter macadamia sauce! Yummy!

No, I wasn’t having breakfast alone. Making friends in Hawaii!

Disclaimer: I worked night shift the whole time there, thus all the great beach time while on a working trip to Hawaii. Sleep…well, who needs that when the beach was a two block walk away!

Support a starving college student! Listen to her EP!

This may be my shortest blog post ever because I want you to go check out my daughters 5 songs! Buy the album, buy a song, listen on an app! Spread the word! Tell a friend, tell a neighbor! If you enjoyed hearing her sing the National Anthem last week, here’s the encore!

What are you waiting for? Go! Go find her on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon music. Search for Sarah Lopez! You won’t be disappointed! And you are helping a Pre-Med college student pay for that great education at Vanderbilt!

Why we should respect the National Anthem

My oldest daughter captured a photo of her sister on ESPN 2 from the pre-game show. They didn’t play the National Anthem, but they did show her out there on the field!

My daughter sang the National Anthem at the opening of the Ohio vs. UVA football game today that was played at Vanderbilt University due to Hurricane Florence. Yes, the same game that was aired live on ESPN 2. Don’t you dare tell me you took a knee unless you were tying your shoes! Or praying! And I pray that my child who stood out there on the 50 yard line all alone saw nothing but proud Americans standing tall with their right hand over their heart while she sang THE National Anthem. Yes, you have the right to sit or kneel while the Star Spangled Banner is played. I also have the right to be offended when you disrespect OUR National Anthem that is sang and/or played to honor OUR Flag. The same Flag that flies high over our Nation’s Capital. The same Flag that covers the coffins of our Service Members when they make the ultimate sacrifice. The same Flag that is presented to the mourning family members of the Veterans that gave up so much so you can sit, stand, kneel, or even do a cartwheel when they play the National Anthem.

National Anthem September 2018 Ohio-UVA Football Game played at Vanderbilt (link edited from original post to the professional edition courtesy of UVA)

It is a time honored tradition that our sporting events begin with the playing of the National Anthem. When did it become acceptable to turn that treasured moment into an opportunity to protest? Yes, I understand the protests are not meant to be disrespectful to those that gave their lives to keep that flag waving high. So why not do it some other time? Turn your back on the half-time show? Ignore the announcer during the coin toss? Refuse the cup of Gatorade or Powerade when you are thirsty? Talk about it in the post-game show?

National Anthem June 2018 WAHS Graduation

This isn’t the first time my daughter sang the National Anthem. She nailed it at her high school graduation just a few months ago. I was just as proud then as I am now. But now she’s taken it to a whole new level! She’s stood on the green grass in a college football stadium and sang her heart out with nothing between her and the crowd but her guitar. This time was also different because she sang the National Anthem while I sat in a hotel room on the other side of the world waiting impatiently for the video to be sent to me because this region of the world doesn’t get ESPN 2! That wouldn’t have mattered anyway. While she was on TV today, America missed the opportunity to hear her beautiful voice because she WAS on TV, but they didn’t air the National Anthem. She looked so tiny on that big college football field. But her voice was huge and those in attendance today at Vanderbilt Stadium were blessed with a great start to their afternoon of football. The rest of us were blessed shortly after when the non-professional video was sent literally worldwide!

Yes, I’m a little passionate about the National Anthem and protecting our Flag. My family has a history of military service. I’ve worn the uniform for over 25 years. I’ve stood and saluted the National Anthem hundreds if not thousands of times. And I’ve attended military funerals. If you’ve never experienced hearing the bugler play Taps at a graveside service following the firing of a 21 gun salute or watched the solemn folding of the flag before its presented to a grieving family, you may not fully understand what it means to sacrifice yourself for the greater good. True sacrifice means you are willing to give up EVERYTHING and expect nothing in return.

My youngest two daughters displaying the American Flag on Veterans Day 2015. One was putting it up while the other was protecting it.

I’ve heard people joke in the past that “no one joins the military to get rich.” While most in the military do not get paid big dollars, they get to experience so much more than money could ever buy: The friends that become more like family than your real relatives. The opportunities to see and experience different cultures. Education and training in some of the top schools and facilities around the world. Learning the meaning of defending the Constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic. Sacrificing family time, missing birthdays and holidays, and explaining to your kids why you are going away again and again. Then seeing your daughter sing the National Anthem just as good if not better than you’ve ever heard before knowing you did something right when you instilled in your children that you RESPECT the National Anthem and stand to face the Flag, always.

And if you don’t agree with me….you are welcome. You have every right to disagree. You have every right to speak your mind. You have every right to sit, stand, kneel, or stand on your head. That is the American way of life. But next time you decide to protest during the National Anthem remember that my daughter sang her heart out and nailed it. Twice! And that deserves a little bit of your respect, too.

Short stop on the way home…

I arrived in California Friday evening after escaping the worst of Hurricane Lane. I spent the day with my team on the ground in Cali and did a little site seeing while we got caught up. First stop was Santa Cruz for lunch on the wharf!

We also watched the sea lions hang out. It’s amazing how many just lay around. We also couldn’t believe how high they had to jump to get up on the beams under the wharf. For the big ones, that had to be quite a site. We hung around for a bit, but all we got to see were some lounging sea lions sun bathing and relaxing.

Next on our journey that day was a drive into the mountains to see the Big Redwoods! They are miraculous. The way they intertwine and split and fall and keep growing is amazing. The forest was beautiful and the mountains were surreal. Like a scene from a movie. We searched hard for Harry (aka Big Foot), but he was no where to be found. Guess he’ll still remain the hide and seek world champion! Below is me inside a tree and a view from the side of the road along the way.

For a 36 hour lay over, it was a busy and memorable stop on my trip home. Before I forget….I wanted to share this photo I took from the airplane on the approach to Los Angeles. It was really hazy that night, perhaps it was even smoky out. But getting to see a classic icon from an airplane window was just plain cool!

And my Delta SkyMiles continue to build as the journey really never ends. Looking forward to sharing more from my travels! But extremely thankful that tonight I can sleep in my own bed. At least try to sleep. My schedule is completely out of whack and my sleep cycle will take a few days to adjust. Until then, I’ll keep adding to that bucket list (aka future vacations) and reading more books until I fall asleep.

On time departure…

Here I sit at the gate, plane is here, signs show on time. Looks good so far! The storm has slowed down and weakened, so today isn’t horrible. Tomorrow and Sunday is questionable.

Beautiful site at the Honolulu Airport!

The wind was loud last night and the lights flickered, but being a hurricane veteran it was a relaxing night. Hope those on the other islands recover quickly from the flooding and the rest fair well. For those flying today, safe travels!

More to follow later with the better parts of this trip!

Aloha!

Edit: first class on this plane rocks!!!!

Hurricane Prepping while on business travel….not my fault its in Hawaii

For the last week or so I’ve been collecting photos to share on my blog after I returned from my trip to Hawaii. Yes, I’m here on business not leisure. However, since this little storm named Hurricane Lane has decided to venture my way, I guess I had to make the big announcement early. Surprise, I’m in Hawaii!

My flight is scheduled to leave tomorrow morning. Everyone laughs when I say that. I’m trying to remain confident that the storm will continue to slow down or turn, and I will be able to use that free upgrade to first class! Yes, that may be a factor into why I haven’t voluntarily changed my flight already. The approaching storm may also be the reason I got the free upgrade as people scrambled to leave early or went ahead and re-booked a later flight. I’m holding out until Delta Airlines tells me otherwise. They are still showing an on time departure!

Hurricane prepping at the hotel. Patio furniture officially indoors now!

How do you prep in a hotel room just blocks from the beach? I brought my patio furniture inside this morning. I bought some water and if the situation turns bad…I have several boxes of chocolate covered macadamia nuts that were supposed to be gifts for friends and family but could also easily be my back-up food supply. All my electronics and back-up battery supply are plugged in and charging. I read all the information posted in the hotel lobby. Good to know that the glass doors in my room are built to withstand 150 mph winds. My room is by the fire escape, so if we lose power I’ll be able to get downstairs. Although 16 floors is a long walk. I pre-packed my stuff because 1) I’m optimistic I’m leaving tomorrow and 2)if I have to evacuate, I don’t want to forget anything in the rush to leave. I think I’m about ready.

Surfers are enjoying the bigger storm waves.

So, I went down to the beach and took photos of the growing waves. I may have gotten my feet wet. I’m smart, but I’m also a girl that grew up in South Florida. Its like against the law to go to the beach and not get sand between your toes and salt water on your skin. I enjoyed watching the surfers. The numbers are growing as the day progresses. Local businesses are boarding up and shutting down. The life guards have left their towers and are patrolling from their vehicles for their safety and for a wider response. That means there are no life guards on duty on the beach. Swim and surf at your own risk—a warning that isn’t slowing anyone down.

Now that I let the cat out of the bag, I’ll let you know how this Hurricane Lane adventure unfolds. For now, here’s some comparison photos from the same exact spot on the jetty. One was taken two days ago and the other this morning.

The angry Pacific Ocean behind me pre-hurricane Lane on August 23rd.

The calm blue Pacific Ocean behind me on August 21st.

How many geese are too many?

My youngest daughter welcoming the geese back the Spring of 2017

[the_ad_placement id=”after-content”]When we first moved into our house over 5 years ago, there was a single goose that visited our pond. Shortly after we settled in, Goosey found her true love. Geese mate for life, so we expected the two to return the next year. They did. It was refreshing to see commitment and long term love in a relationship, even if it was a pair of birds. It was exciting when they had their first babies. My kids enjoyed watching the little goslings grow into adults. We all anticipated their annual visit.

This year, our two geese returned and we watched all summer as their 5 little children grew to be as big as them over a few months time. They laid in our back yard, they swam in the pond, they visited our neighbors, and they gave us something beautiful and entertaining to watch out our back windows. While 7 geese was a bit overwhelming, we knew they would leave soon and the cycle would start all over again next year.

The mama and daddy goose with their 5 babies earlier this year. The “Original 7” of 2018!

But then 5 more geese showed up one day this week. 5 more joined them the next day. For several days, we watched the 17 geese swim and hang out along the shore of the pond. I started to get a little nervous about the number. But I kept telling the kids they were all gathering up to head out soon. Sounded good to me. Apparently, my pond is a sweet spot for birds. I mean, we do see egrets and other water birds from time to time.

The geese resting in my yard. Definitely more than 7 in this photo.

This morning a few more families showed up. I counted 33 geese! 33! It’s starting to look crowded out there. I think they agree. We watched a few fights this afternoon. Not sure who is who at this point, but I would chase others off too if I was one of the originals. At what point is the pond considered “full”? How do they know to come here? Are the new families some of Goosey’s original children? Things that run through my mind while I hope all 33 will leave soon.

As of today, there are 33 geese hanging out in our backyard!

Of course, I “googled” the migration patterns and schedules for Canadian Geese. It says they should be heading out mid-August. That would mean some time next week. At the rate the numbers are growing, I’m a little worried about the next few days and the possibility of more geese showing up. For a small suburb in a rural community, 33 seems like too many already. Seems appropriate that a group of geese is called a “gaggle.” Is there a limit to the number of geese in a gaggle? At what point will they turn on the “no vacancy” sign and claim the pond is full? Looking forward to watching their V-formation fly away until next year.

In their defense, the pond does have some amazing sunsets. A beautiful vacation spot for a family of geese.

Where did the summer go?

Back to school already?! As we walked into the middle school for open house yesterday I felt like I had just been there a few days ago for the last day of school awards ceremony. However, it had been 73 days. And just like that—74 days of summer are done, and the kids went back to school today. Yes, it is the first week of August.

What happened to going back to school after Labor Day? I realize some schools up north still have weeks of summer left. They also were still in school when we were already starting our many summer adventures. However, I think we have this whole concept backwards. August in the South is hot. Very hot. And humid. Not just a little warm. Africa hot with tropical moisture. The afternoon thunderstorms are still arriving. The grass in my yard is still growing. The geese that arrived last spring are even still here! Mother Nature says it is still summer! Today would have been a great pool day with a high of 90 degrees and sunny to partly cloudy skies. Sounds like summer to me!

I can complain all day about the early start date, but it isn’t going to change the fact that my kids went back to school today. 74 days of summer went by in the blink of an eye. So quickly that we were still cleaning out backpacks from last school year at 8:00 last night. To their credit, at least they agreed to recycle the backpacks this year instead of insisting on a new one. After purchasing 7 binders, all the discounted notebook paper I could find (2 packs at a time—I didn’t want the cashiers to know I’m really hoarding school supplies), 48 #2 wooden pre-sharpened pencils, several boxes of colored pencils, glue sticks, numerous other items, plus a calculator that would have made high school math so much easier back in my day—we were ready for the last two school-age kids to get their learning on! Off they went to school this morning carrying a load of school supplies that looked like they were about to hike the Appalachian Trail instead of riding a school bus.

First day of school backpack filled with school supplies and her new lunchbox with a Bento Box inside—ready for school or a long day hike!

Summer was busy but went by like a blur. The first day of school started smoothly, even with someone forgetting their glasses they need to see the board. Easy fix! They were ready 20 minutes early. No one cried. Everyone ate some breakfast. No one changed their outfit a million times. No one was late for school. Sounds like a success story to me. Now….how many days until next summer?